CHAPTER 82: NULL

His serene voice, filled with a sense of longing, asked.

"Do you know who the greatest mage to have ever lived is?"

The question was directed at everyone, not just Zephyr.

All of them paused, turning to Corvinus. Only Aurelia answered.

"It’s the first Wizard King, the Prime Luminary who developed the rune-based magic system."

"That’s correct." Corvinus nodded. "But how many of you know he was not the strongest mage to have existed?"

"He is not the strongest." All three of them exclaimed.

Corvinus chuckled.

"Yes, that’s right. The Prime Luminary was not that strong."

"Ah!"

None of them could believe it. Even Zephyr found it a little confusing.

Ignoring their confused gaze, Corvinus continued.

"The Prime Luminary is a legend. We knew he existed and his achievements. But no one ever talked about his strength in detail."

"But, master, the books..."

It was the first time Aurelia had heard something like that. And it went against all the books she read.

"The books are a bunch of losers quoting each other circularly. They don’t know the history of that era, so they filled the gaps with their own imagination. The Holy Land played the biggest role in it."

Corvinus scoffed.

"The name Prime Luminary was also given by them. They think of him as their first pope and the apostle of their god, Helios, who came to earth to free humanity. So, don’t believe everything that’s written in the history books."

Saying that, he gazed at the children sitting around him.

"The rumor about his great strength originates from the Philarune Empire’s historians. These men think the Prime Luminary is their first king, and the royal family inherits his bloodline. So, to elevate themselves, they embellished a great deal of it."

"While the Philarune empire and the Holyland hated each other, they together built up the legend of the Prime Luminary."

"One portrays him as an apostle who came to save humanity by enlightening us. The other portrays him as a supreme being with immense power who single-handedly saved the world."

Corvinus chuckled.

"Neither was the entire truth." He said and took a deep breath.

Zephyr heard everything he had to say with great interest. But he still couldn’t understand Corvinus’ purpose.

’What is this old man rambling about? Does he have proof?’

Corvinus could see the question in their eyes.

"Most grand mages know this." He continued to speak. "Because the proof of what I said lies in the runes themselves."

"What do you mean?" Zephyr asked, almost leaping out of his chair.

Corvinus smiled, watching him.

"Let me give you a clue. There is a class of runes called the null runes. They serve no purpose in a spell, but can be found peppered in almost all ancient spells."

"To most, it looks like meaningless squiggles written to pack the spell or make it attractive. But when your senses deepen, you will begin to realise the deeper mysteries within."

Corvinus suddenly paused.

"That’s the clue. The rest you have to find out on your own."

’F*ck.’ Zephyr sat there frozen for a moment.

What was revealed to him shattered his worldview.

’Don’t tell me the entire spell and rune system is a giant encrypted message or code.’

Zephyr felt his heart thump. Blood rushed to his brain as he sat there dazed.

"What I want to say is that... Prime Luminary did exist, but the stories we hear are not the entire truth. Also, strength doesn’t make you great."

"There is more to magic than meets the eye. Its mysteries are endless, and it is yours to unravel."

"Perhaps, one day, Zephyr here might rewrite history and discover a new path of magic." He muttered, looking at Zephyr.

Zephyr broke out of his thoughts and gazed at Corvinus.

"The dogmatic men of the Storm Tower might disagree with me. But there is nothing wrong with trying. That’s why I invited you into the Royal Academy. The mana control you have is beyond comprehension. The way you created a mana jammer by controlling far more mana than any beginner mage gave me hope that there might be more to you."

Corvinus laughed.

"As an old man, stuck on his journey to become a great mage, I thought there might be something I could learn from you."

Corvinus laid out the true reason for his decision to recruit Zephyr without any deceit. Or at least, that’s what Zephyr thought.

At the same time, the game world he thought was simple revealed a new facet to him that he never thought existed. This revelation came with the caveat that fully trusting many of the lore he knew had become impossible.

’Perhaps the signs were shown in the game too. I must have been too much of a fool to realise it.’

Zephyr spent the day playing games to relax. He was not a lore junkie who chased obscure lore items. And he didn’t have the habit of reading wikis or related information on the game. Thus, he could have overlooked many things.

’Anyways, it’s interesting.’

Zephyr thought and brought a large piece of crab roe sandwiched between bread into his mouth. The fat, the umami, the delicious flavour burst into his mouth like a flash flood, making him forget what just happened.

He closed his eyes, experiencing pure bliss.

Meanwhile, Aurelia stopped what she was doing and thought deeply about what Corvinus said.

As if she had come to a decision, she raised her head and proclaimed.

"Master, I will become a great mage. Someone who surpasses the wizard king."

Corvinus chuckled and nodded while eating his portion of the fish. Though he revealed quite a lot of secrets, he also kept some hidden from them for their own good.

"The world hasn’t seen a Wizard King in over five centuries. I hope one appears soon." He murmured under his breath.

The strongest person in the world was a mage from Holyland—the current pope. His mana core had been said to have reached the peak possible for a person, ninety-nine centimetres wide, a long time ago. Still, he couldn’t transcend from an Archmage and become a Wizard King. Something was blocking him from reaching the higher realm.

Corvinus, on the other hand, was an eight-star mage. His mana core was 82 cm wide. But compared to the pope, his strength was insignificant. He had already reached his peak and could not grow anymore. Therefore, there was absolutely zero chance for him to transcend. The reality was a difficult pill to swallow, but he had come to terms with it a long time ago.

He sighed as he wished for a Wizard King to appear among humans. With the way the world was changing, a Wizard King was the only one who could stabilize it.

He sighed again.